Eric S. Parnes

Areas of Concentration

• Appellate Litigation
• International Arbitration
• Commercial Litigation
• Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Litigation
• Securities Litigation

Selected Matters

• Representing a major pharmaceutical company and several of its officers and directors in MDL securities, shareholder derivative, and ERISA litigation arising out of withdrawal of a drug from the market
• Represented a major pharmaceutical manufacturer in multi-defendant actions in federal and state courts, including multiple state attorney-general actions, challenging industry pricing practices
• Represented the outside directors of Dynegy, Inc. in consolidated federal securities class action and state and federal shareholder derivative actions stemming from company’s restatements of selected transactions. See In re Dynegy, Inc. Securities Litigation, 339 F. Supp. 2d 804 (S.D. Tex. 2004)
• Represented a Swedish company in non-administered arbitration proceedings against a major U.S. corporation in dispute involving agreement to develop and commercialize new technology
• Yazdani v. Access ATM, 941 A.2d 429 (D.C. 2008): Briefed and argued successful opposition to appeal from dismissal of breach of contract, fraud, and RICO claims
• KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007): Prepared amicus curiae brief on behalf of General Motors Corp., Cisco Systems, Inc., Hallmark, Fortune Brands, Electrolux NA, and Microsoft Corp. in patent case addressing issue of obviousness. Court ruled in favor of position advocated in our brief
• Gonzales v. Oregon, 546 U.S. 243 (2006): Prepared amicus curiae brief on behalf of members of Oregon’s congressional delegation challenging the federal government’s attempt to curtail Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, which allows doctors in carefully regulated circumstances to assist terminally ill patients who choose to hasten death. The challenge was successful
• In re Merck Co. Securities, Derivative and ERISA Litigation (3rd Cir.) (2007, 2008); Merck & Co., Inc. v. Reynolds (U.S. No. 08-905): Assisted in preparation of briefs in appeals of dismissal of securities and derivative claims against pharmaceutical company
• Fullen v. Philips Electronics North America Corp., No. 06-128 (W. Va.): Defended CBS (formerly Viacom, Inc.) against claims by 1,300 current and former employees in a light bulb factory that their employers (including CBS’s predecessor Westinghouse) deliberately exposed them to harmful substances

Education Information

• Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 2002, cum laude
  • Articles Editor, Georgetown Law Journal
  • Student Counsel, Georgetown Appellate Litigation Clinic
    • McDaniel v. United States, 40 Fed. Appx. 790 (4th Cir. 2002). Briefed and argued successful appeal in civil asset forfeiture case
    • SEC v. Zandford, 535 U.S. 813 (2002). Drafted portions of Respondents’ Brief
  • CALI Award for Achievement in the Study of Evidence
  • Author, “They the People: A Third-Party Beneficiary Approach to Constitutional Interpretation” 43 Santa Clara Law Review 495 (2003).
  • Author, “Appeals, in Thirtieth Annual Review of Criminal Procedure” 89 Geo. L. J. 1783 (2001).
• University of Maryland, B.A., 1999

Court Admissions

• United States Supreme Court
• United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• United States District Court for the District of Columbia

Bar Admissions

• Maryland, 2002
• District of Columbia, 2004
• Louisiana, 2009